In portable electric tools, such as drills, nutrunners, and screwdrivers, for example, it is desirable to reverse the direction of rotation of the motor to facilitate, for example, the loosening and removal of screws, for rotating a thread-cutting tool out of a bore after cutting a thread therein, etc. This is accomplished by reversing the polarity across the armature of the motor thereby changing the direction in which the current flows therethrough. Actuators utilized to reverse polarity need to lock into position and activate a switch prior to a user depressing a trigger that energizes the tool.